Ford Atlas pickup concept is a preview of the 2015 F-150, which Ford expects to sell well and keep generating big profits. / Ford Motor

by James R. Healey, USA TODAY

by James R. Healey, USA TODAY

Despite struggles in Europe, Ford Motor says its fourth-quarter profit was $1.7 billion before taxes, the most in the fourth quarter for more than a decade. And it marked Ford's 14th-consecutive profitable quarter.

It amounted to 31 cents a share, beating Wall Street forecasts, which ranged from 25 cents to 28 cents.

Net quarterly earnings after taxes were $1.24 billion.

Europe continues to bleed money, posting a quarterly loss of $732 million and a full-year loss of $1.73 billion. Ford CFO Bob Shanks said the company will lose $2 billion in Europe this year, but that should be the bottom, and new model introductions should start a loss-reducing comeback.

Ford forecast similar overall company results for this year -- bigger losses in Europe, but higher earnings in North America; break-even in South America and Asia-Pacific -- and investors didn't like that. Ford's stock price, down 5% to 6% most of the day, recovered slightly and closed down 4.6%, or 64 cents, at $13.14.

"Ford is forecasting no margin expansion in North America and steeper losses in Europe, along with the rest of international only break-even. ... This undercuts the popular investor thesis that Ford offers significant earnings expansion from a booming U.S. auto market," auto industry analyst Brian Johnson of Barclays Capital said in a note to clients soon after Ford executives discussed earnings on a conference call.

Ford said that despite the European anchor, overall results were as good as in the days when trucks and SUVs, generally high-profit models, were a more significant part of its sales. Though no longer dominant, truck and SUV sales have begun to pick up as the economy inches back, and Ford has been successful at selling highly optioned versions of all its vehicles, earning bigger profits than lesser-equipped models do.

Ford "recorded the highest level of transaction prices for the company, up over $500 compared" with 2011, notes Jesse Toprak, industry analyst at TrueCar.com, and did it at lower incentive levels. The average transaction price in the U.S., he says, was $32,600, up from $31,751 a year earlier. The average per-vehicle sales incentive cost Ford $2,691 last year, down from $2,940.

Ford did, however, lose 1.3 points of market share in the U.S., finishing the year at 15.2%.

For all of 2012, the automaker's pretax earnings were $8 billion and net income was $5.7 billion, down $307 million from a year ago. Ford forecast pretax earnings about the same this year.

Revenue last quarter was $36.5 billion, up $1.9 billion from the same period a year ago. For 2012, revenue was $134.3 billion, down $2 billion from a year earlier.

Ford said Tuesday that it will make profit-sharing payments averaging $8,300 on March 14 to about 45,800 U.S. hourly workers as part of its contract with the UAW. Employees who worked less than a full year, or fewer hours, will get a smaller profit-sharing check.

On Jan. 10 Ford announced it was doubling the quarterly dividend, to a dime a share.

Ford has taken aggressive restructuring actions in money-losing Europe, saying it will close three plants by 2014, and now says this year might be when it hits bottom in Europe, rather than next year, as it previously forecast.

"We think we can be profitable, with the restructuring actions that we've taken and all the new products that we're introducing, by mid-decade," CEO Alan Mulally predicted at Automotive News World Congress in Detroit earlier this month.

A product blitz in Europe includes EcoSport, a mini-SUV, Edge an SUV that's midsize in the U.S. and considered full-size overseas, and Mustang sports coupe.

According to a saying coined by Nissan/Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn, and generally accepted by the industry, "There's no problem in the auto industry that product won't solve."

In North America, Ford said it made $1.87 billion in the quarter -- twice as much as the $889 million it posted a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter was $22.1 billion, up $2.5 billion.

For the year, North American profit was $8.34 billion, before taxes.

The company said its automotive operations generated $1 billion in positive cash flow in the quarter, $3.4 billion for the year.

Mulally said Tuesday that the company expects to win better quality scores than already top-tier showings in most regions outside the U.S. And in the U.S., Ford is "making progress addressing the concerns of our customers."

The CEO didn't elaborate, but Ford's Microsoft-based Sync control system and its MyFord Touch iteration continue to cause aggravation. Consumer Reports recently complimented several of Ford's new models -- but slapped all of them for the confusing and awkward Sync/MyFord Touch systems.

Hoping to ensure big truck profits in the future, Ford showed a preview of the 2015 F-150 at the Detroit auto show earlier this month, hoping to tempt prospective buyers into waiting instead of buying General Motors' new Chevrolet Silverado or GMC Sierra pickups, on sale this year.

Ford also wanted to raise doubts in shoppers' minds about spending now for Chrysler Group's Ram pickup, revised for 2013 and winner of the North American Truck of the Year earlier this month, an award bestowed by 49 U.S. and Canadian auto journalists.